“FRIDAY
UPDATES”
February
6, 2009
The 2008 Annual Town Reports have
been delivered from the printer and will be mailed out to property owners next
week. This year’s report cover, shown above, was taken by
For all of you dog enthusiasts, the
2009 Westminster Dog Show will start on Monday, February 9th, in
March
10, 2009 Town/School Elections
The Town and
The following citizens have filed
for the
Town Council - 3 positions (3-year
terms):
Diana
Carroll, Richard Kelley, Robin Mower, Christopher
Mueller
Neil Niman, Michael Skubisz
Library Board of Trustees - 2
positions (3-year terms): Robin Balducci, Douglas
Bencks
Trustee of Trust Funds - 1 position
(3-year
term):
George “Curly” Frick
Candidates running for Oyster
River Cooperative School District offices
include:
For
Moderator:
Richard Laughton
For School
Board:
Donald W. Anderson, Brian Banafato, Henry Brackett, James T. Gard, Jocelyn
O’Quinn,
Mark Townsend, Edward Valena
On Tuesday, February 17, 2009,
beginning at 7:00 PM, a DBA Candidates Forum for Town Council and Library
Trustee candidates will be held in the Council chambers of the Town Hall located
at
On Tuesday, March 3, 2009, beginning
at 7:00 PM, the Durham Neighborhoods Alliance (DNA) will sponsor a Town Council
Candidates Forum in the Town Council chambers of the Town Hall located at
Durham/UNH
Train Station - The Amtrak Downeaster
There were several stories this week
focusing on
Public
Works Salt Supplies
The Public Works Department has not
run out of salt. The Town has reserved $34,000 of salt supplies for
the 2009 winter season. The Town has to date spent $6,039. Public
Works orders salt on an as needed basis, which comes from
In addition to providing free access
to the Transfer Station and
Spread
the Word about the "Friday Updates"
If you enjoy reading the weekly
"Friday Updates" list server broadcast each week, or if you find them helpful
during an emergency such as extended power outages or during 100 year
floods (which seem to be occurring more frequently of late), consider telling a
friend about them. Subscription is largely by word of mouth. They
are also available via the Town's web site at http://ci.durham.nh.us/Fridayupdate2.asp.
At present, we have 1,389 subscribers.
"Friday
Updates" in Hard Copy at Library and Town Office
In order to ensure residents who do
not utilize the internet are able to access the weekly "Friday Updates," we will
now begin to print out a hard copy for viewing by residents in the foyer of the
Town Office and at the Durham Public Library.
Electrical
Fire due to deteriorated electrical
equipment
On Thursday evening, January
29, 2009, an electrical short circuit caused a small fire at
a
PUBLIC
HEARINGS –
On Monday, February 16, 2009, the
Durham Town Council will hold public hearings on the following two ordinances in
the Council chambers at the Durham Town Hall: Ordinance #2009-01, amending
Chapter 175 “Zoning”, Article XXIV “Septic Systems”, Section 175-139 and 175-40
of the Durham Town Code and Ordinance #2009-02, amending Chapter 4
“Administrative Code”, Article IV, Section 4-18(9)(a) of the Durham Town Code by
reducing the number of Council representatives on the Economic Development
Committee from two to one.
Questions regarding Ordinance
#2009-01 should be addressed to Town Planner
On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at 7:00
PM, the Department of Public Works will hold a public informational meeting in
the Council Chambers of the
FEBRUARY
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING - CANCELLED
As no applications were received
prior to the deadline for consideration by the Durham Zoning Board in the month
of February, the Zoning Board will not hold its regular meeting in
February, originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2009. The next meeting
of the ZBA will be held on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 7:00 PM.
PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE
The following public meetings are
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office and will begin at 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated
below.
Zoning Board of Adjustment –
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Planning Board – Wednesday, February
11, 2009
Conservation Commission – Thursday,
February 12, 2009
Economic Development Committee –
Friday, February 13, 2009 (7:30
AM)
To view the agendas for the meetings
listed above, please click HERE.
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.
To view the Oyster River School Board
meeting schedule, click HERE.
To view the Durham Public Library Board of
Trustees meeting schedule, click HERE.
The Durham Energy Committee (DEC) is
developing a chapter in the Durham Master Plan, and a comprehensive vision and
strategy for the future. As a follow-up to its first public “visioning”
meeting held last November, the committee invites the public to once again share
their ideas and vision at the next public “visioning” meeting to be held on
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, at 7:00 PM in the Town Council chambers.
Bill Schoonmaker will once again facilitate the meeting. Come join the
members of the DEC for continued conversations on how
PUBLIC
WORKS JOINS PSNH’s PEAK SMART PLUS PROGRAM
This week, Department of Public
Works staff met with Public Service of New Hampshire officials to discuss a new
program called the Peak Smart Plus program. The program will
specifically be applied to the Wastewater Treatment Plant as it takes large
amounts of electricity to run the plant (bill averages $12,000 per month) and
has a generator capable of fully supplying its own power to the plant during
outages. The program is designed to have participants run on their
generator power during times of peak demand from PSNH, such as brown-outs or
during other outages, and it rebates the monthly electricity bill. In
the case of the WWTP, the rebate on the monthly bill will be approximately
$1,000. This plan will not be mobilized often, and then, only during
normal workdays, Monday-Friday, so it will not require additional overtime needs
for the department.
INFORMATION
FOR BIRDWATCHERS
The Parks
and Recreation Committee has the following suggestion for birdwatchers in Town –
please click on the following link and have fun sharing your observations with
other like-minded naturalists:
http://www.nhbirdrecords.org/bird-conservation/backyard-winter-survey.htm
The committee would also like to
suggest some parks located within Town for great bird viewing beyond your back
yard: Adams Point, Cedar Point, Colby Marsh,
PARKS AND
RECREATION COMMITTEE SPONSORS HOT CHOCOLATE AT WAGON HILL
FARM
The members of the Parks and
Recreation Committee are sponsoring hot chocolate at Wagon Hill on Sunday,
February 8, 2009, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Come join them for a warm beverage
up by the wagon! You are welcome to bring any food or snacks to share with
other community members, but that certainly is not required. Come enjoy
this fantastic Town property during the winter.
PARKS
AND RECREATION COMMITTEE BROCHURE
The Parks and Recreation Committee
has a new brochure available with information regarding activities and
facilities throughout the town. They are available to pick up at the Town
Hall or Durham Public Library. You may also e-mail the committee at: parksandrec@ci.durham.nh.us with
any questions or suggestions. Please also check out the Parks and
Recreation (soon to be updated) website: http://ci.durham.nh.us/community/recreation.html
for additional information.
Winter
Farmers' Market - February 7th in
Fresh greens, eggs, shrimp + lobster,
milk + yogurt, poultry, beef, pork, potatoes, carrots, organic teas, breads,
turnips, and much, much more will all be on sale at the next winter farmers'
market at The Congregational Church in Exeter, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on
Saturday, February 7, 2009. The next winter market after that isn't until March
7, 2009, at the
WALKING/RUNNING
SAFETY – NIGHT VISIBILITY
One of the biggest dangers in
walking or running in the dark is that vehicles do not expect or cannot see you.
Wearing dark clothing can make being seen even more difficult. Below are some
safety tips for increasing visibility while exercising at night:
·
Wear reflective clothing. Avoid dark colored
clothing. Light colors reflect more light. Light colored clothing is a good
start, but modern highly-reflective clothing that is designed for maximum
nighttime visibility is much better.
·
Buy reflective
tape that is designed to reflect light back to its
source. Apply this tape liberally to your exercise clothing. Drivers from any
direction will see the bright strips.
·
Wear a reflective safety
vest, similar to those worn by highway workers. It
can be worn over exercise clothing to allow drivers to see a bright human
outline. It can be worn with any exercise outfit and does not require modifying
your clothing.
·
Many running clothing companies sell exercise apparel
made of highly-reflective
fabrics. This clothing is often sold as running gear,
but can also be used for walking, bicycling, or any other exercise. This
highly-reflective running clothing serves the dual purpose of making you visible
at night and keeping you warm in winter weather.
·
Adding LED safety
lights with any of these options will increase your
visibility.
Courtship
Tea with Rita Parisi –
Back by popular demand, on Saturday,
February 14, 2009, from 2:00-3:30 PM, Rita Parisi will tell tales of how Mr.
Gordon courted Mrs. Gordon in the 1890's. Enjoy tea and goodies while you listen
to Mrs. Gordon's entertaining tales. What an appropriate and pleasant way to
spend a wintery Valentine's Day. Seating will be limited, so please call the
library at 868-6699 to register. This event is intended for ages 13 and
up.
Seacoast
Active Retirement Association General Meeting
The Active Retirement Association
General Meeting will be held on Monday, February 16, 2009, at the
TASTES
OF
Realizing that few networking
opportunities exist in the
FEBRUARY
EVENTS AT CHurchill Rink SCHEDULE
Valentine Skate – skate with your
sweetie!
Saturday, February 14, 2009,
7:30-9:00 PM. FREE for all ages
Teen Skate
Night
Saturday, February 21, 2009, 7:30-9:00 PM, Cost:
$3.00
Public skating – times offered every
day
Stick and Puck – Monday – Friday and
Sunday
Pick Up Hockey – Monday – Friday and
Sunday
For more information, call the rink
at 868-3907, or visit our website at www.churchillrink.com
Weekly
Police Arrest Report
Week – 15
8 UNH
(53%) 7
Other (47%)
*2008/09 Academic Year –
523 338 UNH
(65%) 185 Other
(35%)
Calendar Year –
46
32 UNH (70%) 14
Other (30%)
*Commenced
September 1, 2008
Historical
data for the same week
Year |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
Week |
17 |
15 |
30 |
19 |
15 |
|
Academic
Year |
602 |
746 |
581 |
482 |
523 |
|
Calendar
Year |
65 |
84 |
78 |
41 |
46 |
FROM
HISTORY IN AN OYSTERSHELL – 1600 – 1976
“1885 – Townspeople depended upon
springs or dug wells for water. Whitcher, Hoitt, Smith, and later, Pettee,
drilled wells and used wind – or gasoline-powered pumps to service the village.
NHC used its own electric power. Follet Brook was dammed for fire
protection.”
Have a nice
weekend.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us
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